Kravis on Broadway | Porgy and Bess

George Gershwin’s classic Porgy and Bess merges jazz with opera for one of the great musicals of all time. It’s coming to West Palm Beach for the Kravis Center’s celebrated Kravis on Broadway Series.

Porgy and Bess

January 7-12

Production History: Referred to as the great American opera, Porgy and Besswas first produced in 1935. As an opera with jazz and folk idioms, it perplexed audiences and producers for most of the twentieth century, until it was staged at the Houston Grand Opera in 1976. The revival opened in 2011 and received the Tony for best musical revival.

Synopsis: Set in Charleston’s fictional Catfish Row in the 1920s, it follows Porgy’s attempt to rescue Bess from her abusive lover.

Notable Songs: “Summertime,” “I Got Plenty of Nothing”

Why You Should See It: George Gershwin was the premiere composer to emerge from Tin Pan Alley, and Porgy and Bess remains his opus. The revival fleshes out the nuisances of race issues in the early 1900s while maintaining the musical integrity of the original.